The New Math of Law School - NYTimes.com

The New Math of Law School - NYTimes.com

(click link)





Excerpts:





"x x x.



To the Editor:



Your look at law school practices was laudable, but here is another question: What can society and the legal profession do with the seeming oversupply of well-trained, unemployed law grads, while also addressing the great maldistribution of civil legal access to the working poor?



Pro bono legal services have not come close to meeting the needs of these Americans. The problem has worsened as the economy continues to falter, foreclosures rise and more people are unemployed.



The talent and the need are present, but funds are required to connect the two. A pilot program is needed to provide an attorney minimum wage in place of a pure pro bono system — a move that would increase the employment of lawyers and representation of the poor. Funds could come from several sources, including the addition of fees to high-ticket corporate litigation and punitive awards. And why not require wealthy law schools that have made disproportionate profits over the years to contribute, too?



Patrick J. Mercurio, Esq.



Manhattan, July 20





The writer is a lawyer.



x x x."